The Haninozuka Girl
by Sakura Ando
Summary: When Akito returned to Japan, she felt ready for anything. It's only when she sees a little boy around Ouran University that her confidence starts to falter. The realization of who this boy is could turn the strong girl into an emotional mess.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Hi, I'm Akito Nozuka. Nozuka isn't my real last name, but it's what people have been calling me since I was six, so I can't really remember what my real name is. I can't ask my family for help about names, because they live on the other side of the world.

I've been studying abroad for my entire school career. I've lived in almost eleven counties so far, and I'm only sixteen. I can prepare many specialty dishes from each of those countries, and they all taste like a five star meal. I can do a lot of stuff really, but I don't like to brag.

I like my life, its fun and entertaining. Everything is wonderful.

Then the letter that changed everything came.

For the past year, I've been living in a small community in Ontario, Canada. I have a small circle of friends and nobody really hates me, which is unusual but nice. I live alone, like I have since I was ten. It was the same as every other time.

It was the end of the first semester. I was returning home after finishing my last exam. I felt that something was going to change soon, but I wasn't sure what. I decided that it was probably just going to be news about where I would be studying next.

When I reached my house, I grabbed the mail and walked inside. I dumped my bag on the floor by the table and sat down. I sifted through the mail, finding just bills as usual. Then I came to the last envelope in the pile.

What I noticed right away was that it had come from out of the country. I opened it and glanced at the writing. It was short and in Japanese, so I knew that I was moving again. I skimmed the letter for the country, but didn't find anything. I read it properly to see what was going on.

_Akito,_

_After ten years studying around the world, we feel that you are well educated. We request your immediate return home to finish high school. There are plane tickets enclosed for your return._

There was no signature, but I knew that it was from my dad. I sighed and put the letter back in the envelope. I was a little exited to be returning home, but I was worried that I would feel like a stranger.

I turned on my computer and checked my e-mail. There were a few from my friends asking how my exams went, but nothing really important. Without replying to anyone, I started a new message. I only wrote a few words.

_I'm moving: Japan._

Then I addressed the message to all of my friends and sent it. In no time there were replies. I felt tears forming as I ignored them and shut off the computer. I found out a long time ago that it is best not to drag out goodbyes.

I emptied my school bag and put it with all of my other carrying packs. I filled each suitcase and closed them. I stood in the middle of my room and thought about what to expect when I return.

I thought about my brothers. My older brother is two years older than me, so he'd be starting University. My younger brother (who was only five when I left and probably won't remember me) would be starting high school. I wondered for a bit about what they would look like now. I smiled at the thought of my older brother being tall and strong and looking out for me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The house was huge. I looked down at the note the chauffer had given to me.

_We understand that, after being away for most of your life, you might feel intimidated by the main house. We have arranged for you to live at a second estate. Let us know if you would like to move into the main house._

I looked back up at the house in front of me. "Second estate?" I breathed. It would still be the largest house I have ever lived in. _'I'll never be able to move into the main house if I'm intimidated by this place.'_ I decided that it would be fine if I never moved in with my family. It wouldn't make my life any different.

With a deep breath, I followed one of the movers into the house. My father had already told them where everything was to be put, so I just had to wait until they set up everything in my bedroom. They could tell that I was impatient and were working as fast as possible.

"Miss. Nozuka?" I glanced up to see the man in charge of the movers. He had a box in his hand. "A package arrived at the front door for you."

"Thank you." I said, taking the box from him. I glanced around the room and through the doors to the connecting rooms. I was pleased to see that the kitchen table was already in place. I walked over and set the box down.

The return address identified the sender as a business. "Ouran Academy." I read out loud. I opened the box and pulled out the contents. Many identical yellow dresses had been stuffed into the small box. There was also a letter.

_Miss. Akito Haninozuka._

I stopped after the first line. "Haninozuka…" The unfamiliar name felt right somehow. I smiled at the thought that it might be my real name. I continued to read the letter.

_We here at Ouran are very pleased that you will be continuing your education with us. In this package are your uniforms. We expect to see you among our returning high school second years at the beginning of the term._

The letter went on to talk about the rules of Ouran Academy. I decided that I would have plenty of time between now and the beginning of term to learn the rules. I set the dresses back in the box and placed the letter on top of them. I walked to the door of my soon-to-be room and placed the box beside the door with the boxes of my other clothes.

As I turned down the hall again, I noticed the door opening. One of the movers came out and glanced around. When he saw me, his face brightened. "Miss. Nozuka." He looked back over his shoulder with a worried expression. "We have a bit of a problem."

I blinked twice at him. "What kind of problem?" I looked over his shoulder to see what the room looked like. I couldn't see much, but I caught a glimpse of neon coloured walls.

The mover cleared his throat a little. "Um… The walls appear to have been painted a very bold colour that might hurt the eyes a little." He stepped to the side to let me step inside.

As I entered the room, I gasped. The room was huge. There were large walls that put the room in the shape of a perfect square. The walls had already been painted a bright vibrant green that almost glowed. A glance at the windows and the baseboards continued the amazement. The trim in the entire room was aqua blue and looked wonderful with the wall colour.

"We can paint over it before moving things in, if you want." One of the movers suggested.

I looked at the man who had spoken in horror. "Why would you do that? I love the colour scheme!" I couldn't help smiling widely at everyone in the room.

I noticed that some of the movers gave me strange looks, while others avoided looking at me all together. I knew that they all thought that I was crazy for liking such a colour. One of my friends in Italy had told me that it was a very masculine choice and that it would only make it harder for me to get in touch with a girly side. I didn't care.

I left the movers to finish in my bedroom and decided to check out the garden. I was amazed to find that all of the flowers were grouped together by colour, so that the ground looked like a simple quilt. I ignored the arangment and focused on the choice of flowers. I was overjoyed to see a large section of day lilies. Day lilies were my favourite flower and they always cheered me up.

I straitened up after staring at the flowers for a while and decided that I might actually get used to the house eventually. "I, Akito Nozuka, have arrived in Japan." I murmured the familiar phrase that always went with my arrival in a new country. I thought for a moment, then decided that it wasn't right.

"I, Akito _Hani_nozuka, have arrived."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It was two days before school would start, and I couldn't stay still. Ever since I had arrived at the estate, I had been trying to make it feel more like home. It was a little difficult to do things my own way because there were housekeepers everywhere that kept tidying up the house. It never felt like home with everything always clean.

Finally I had had enough of the house. I decided to check out the grounds of Ouran Academy. It didn't take long for me to convince the chauffer that it would be easier for me to concentrate on the work if I already knew what the school looked like.

After a short car ride, I decided that I could walk to school. We arrived at the school gates and I told the chauffer that he could go home and that I would walk. After a short argument, he agreed that, since it was a nice day out, it would be okay for me to walk home.

I slowly explored the grounds. I was a little surprised that nobody else was there. "Well, I don't have to act sophisticated now." I smiled to myself.

I was just approaching the University part of the school when I heard a noise. It sounded like a child laughing. I slowly rounded a corner to see a small boy running around among a few trees beside the wall.

The boy was short and I guessed that he was going to be a third grade student when school started. He had honey blond hair that curled slightly. I couldn't help but think that I had seen him before.

As I approached the boy, he didn't even look at me. I stood still watching him for a bit. "Hi." I said. My voice came out as a small breath.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Hi." He ran up to me and started staring at me, almost like he was studying me. "Are you a high school student?"

I couldn't help but smile at him. I crouched down so that I could look him in the eye. "Yes. When school starts, I'll be in my second year of high school."

The boy's face gave away the fact that he was slightly disappointed. "Oh. My brother is only starting his first year of high school."

I was about to ask him something about his brother, but just then the sun disappeared. We both looked up at the sky to see dark clouds gathering. I felt a rain drop land on my nose. I turned back to the boy. "I have to go now." I turned and started running for the gate. I looked over my shoulder to tell the boy that he should get home too, but he was gone.

I didn't think much of the boy vanishing. He probably just had good sense and had left for home without being told. I did think that it was strange that he looked so familiar.

* * *

When I got home, I went strait to my room. It had started to rain really hard on my way home, and I was soaked. I grabbed a dry change of clothes and a towel. Then I ran to the bathroom to change and dry off before I could catch a cold.

When I returned to my room to put the wet clothes in the hamper, I noticed something new. It wasn't really _new_, but it was different. In my hurry, I had knocked over a picture from the top of my dresser. It was lying face down on the floor. I picked up the picture and sat down to look at it.

I immediately recognized that it was a family picture. My parents weren't in it, but it was me and my brothers. I was showing Yasuchika how to flash a 'peace' sign at the camera. Mitsukuni was also trying to show him, so Yasuchika was flashing two signs instead of one.

I couldn't stop staring at my older brother. Mitsukuni's honey blond hair had been strait for most of the time I knew him, but in the picture, it was curling slightly. An image of the boy that I had seen earlier flashed in my mind. They looked identical.

I felt the picture falling from my hands, but I didn't try to catch it. I was in too much shock.

"Mitsukuni…" I breathed. I felt tears coming to my eyes. "Was that his ghost?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was the first day of the school year. I had spent the last two days walking around in a daze. I still couldn't believe that my older brother was gone. _'Why didn't dad tell me?'_ I kept thinking.

I was sitting at my desk at the back of class 2-A. I was trying to listen to the teacher, but my mind wouldn't focus. I just gazed out the window, waiting for class to end. I couldn't even check what the other kids in the class were like.

Finally the bell rang. The day was over. I grabbed my bag and shoved my notebook into it. I jumped out of my seat and turned to the door.

"Hey, what's your problem?"

I blinked out of my trance and saw two boys standing in front of me. They were clearly twins. I glared at them. "What do you mean? I don't have a problem." Even as I said this, I felt tears coming to my eyes.

The twin on the right took a step towards me. "You spent the whole day staring out the window."

The other twin smirked. "That means you have a problem."

I shifted my grip on my bag. I was hoping that nobody would notice that I hadn't been paying attention. "I'm just distracted, that's all." On the last word, my voice cracked. I ran for the door.

"Wait!" I felt someone grab my arm. I looked over my shoulder to see that the twins had chased me to the door. "Why are you crying?"

I pulled my arm free and brushed at my eyes. "It's none of your business!" I snapped at them.

I noticed that they looked a little awkward. "Uh… Is there anything that we could do to help?" They asked in broken unison.

I was about to yell at them to leave me alone, when I realized that they may be able to help. I wiped the last of my tears away and cleared my throat. "Do you know where I could find Yasuchika Haninozuka?"

They both looked dumbfounded. "Chika?" Then they nodded and walked toward the door. I followed them down a long hallway. I realized that the signs above doors were now indicating first year classes. "Here we are." I looked up as the twins stopped in front of class 1-A.

I gritted my teeth and tried the door. It swung open and I peered in. The room was almost empty. I saw one boy talking to a group of girls. I instantly recognized the boy's brown hair from my picture. I slowly walked up to the group, unable to say anything.

"Haninozuka-kun, why are you so against the host club?" One of the girls asked him.

I could see that Yasuchika was scowling. "Because it goes against my family's morals." He sounded really angry.

I took a deep breath. "Yasuchika?" Everyone turned to look at me. "Um… You are Yasuchika Haninozuka, right?" He nodded. "Uh… Hi. My name is Akito Ha-"

He cut me off. "Is there a reason you know my name?" He started walking toward the door. "I'm going to be late for the karate club."

I looked after him. _'He's so different than how I remember him.'_ I sighed and followed him out the door. I looked down the hall and saw him disappearing around a corner. I ran after him. "Yasuchika!"

He didn't stop or look at me as I reached him. "Don't follow me."

I thought quickly about how to act. I decided to just be an older sister character. "Yasuchika, where are you going?" I tried to smile at him, but I couldn't get it right.

He scowled again. "I'm the captain of the karate club." He abruptly stopped and I took a step ahead of him before stopping. "Why are you following me? I don't know who you are."

I managed a genuine smile this time. "You left while I was introducing myself." I laughed slightly. "I'm Akito Haninozuka."

I saw a hand flying through the air towards me. I ducked just in time, barely missing his slap. "Don't play games with me!" He snapped.

I thought as fast as I could. I pulled out the picture of me, him, and Mitsukuni. I handed it to him. "Do you recognize anyone from this picture?"

He glared at me, then glanced down at the image. I saw his eyes widen. "This is me and my brother." I noticed that he grimaced at the word 'brohter'. He pointed to the me in the picture. "Who's this?" He held it up to compare the features with me.

I smiled again at him. "It's me." Then I went on to explain to him that I had been studying around the world.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I followed Yasuchika through the school until we came to a set of double doors. I glanced at the sign. "A music room?" I asked him, wondering why he had brought me here.

Yasuchika didn't seem to want to look at the door. "This is where the host club meets." He looked me in the eyes. "When you were telling me your story earlier, I noticed that you sounded depressed." He paused. "These people may be able to cheer you up." He grimaced a little.

I nodded. "Thanks, I'll give it a shot." I waved as he walked away towards his own club. Once I couldn't see him anymore, I pulled open the door. The first thing I noticed was that it was huge and didn't look like a music room.

"Welcome, Princess." I looked to my left to see a boy bowing to me. He had vivid yellow hair and indigo eyes. Something about his eyes seemed familiar. I got the feeling that I had punched this boy before.

Then what he said registered in my mind. I pulled back my hand and formed a fist. Before the boy could notice what I was doing, I swung my arm and connected with the bridge of his nose. My head swam a little. "Whoa, déjà vu."

The boy was covering his face and making weird sounds. He looked back at me and something flashed in his eyes. "Zuka?! Is that you?"

'_Oh no!!!'_ I mentally screamed. _'Not the idiot!'_ I tried to smile at him, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "Hi Tamaki." I waved weakly.

He gave me a large, tight hug. "It's been so long! What are you doing here?" He was squeezing me so hard that I couldn't respond, so he kept talking. "I have to introduce you to some friends of mine."

He finally let go, and I punched him in the arm. "Why do you always do that? I can't breathe like that." I sighed and smiled at him. "My father asked me to move back home again. Why aren't you in France?"

He grinned widely at me. "I came to live with family here too." Then he motioned for me to come into the music room. I followed him to a couch and sat across form him. "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club." He announced, enthusiastically.

I blinked at him. "_You're_ part of the host club?" _'So much for someone to talk seriously to.'_ I continued to smile. "I never thought you would be the type to entertain."

Tamaki's grin turned into a pleased smirk. "I have devoted myself to entertaining ladies for two whole years now." He gestured around him, even though there was nothing there but some furniture. "I founded this club."

I was about to make a comment on how the idea sort of fit his level of intelligence, when the door opened. I glanced in the direction of the sound and saw three boys walk in. I recognized two of them as the twins I had talked to at the end of class. The third boy was tall and looked uncaring.

"Tamaki, who's this?" The tall boy asked, pushing at his glasses. He eyed me with an expression of interest. He kind of scared me.

Tamaki stood up and approached the new comers. "This is Zuka. I knew her when I lived in France." The smile never faltered.

I stood up and walked to stand just in front of Tamaki. I smiled as well as I could at the tall boy. "Hello. I'm Akito Haninozuka." I stuck out my hand.

The tall boy didn't make a move to shake my hand, so I let it fall to my side. He continued to stare at me as he pulled a black notebook from his bag. He made a quick note and replaced the book.

The twins were now staring at me with interest. "Haninozuka?" They asked in unison. "Are you Honey-sempi's cousin?"

I didn't know who they were talking about, and I didn't know much about my extended family other than the Morinozukas. I thought it would be safest to shake my head, so I did. "I don't know much about my family." I told them.

The tall boy cleared his throat. "I think it is time we started the meeting now." He slowly walked to the couch and sat down.

Tamaki looked at him like he was crazy. "But we're not all here yet." He continued to try to stall the tall boy by talking bout random things.

Then the door opened again. I heard it, but didn't turn around to see who it was. Whoever had just come in spoke to everyone there. "Hi everyone. Sorry we're late." Something about the voice made me turn. I gasped as I saw the little boy form Ouran University. The spirit of Mitsukuni Haninozuka.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I stared at the spirit of my brother. I couldn't believe that I was looking at him, but not really him. I tried to say something, but ended up choking on the words. I couldn't move or do anything. Time seemed to stop.

The spell was broken by Tamaki. He half ran to the door. I noticed for the first time that there was another boy standing there. "Great, now we can officially start the meeting." Tamaki declared.

Something about the second boy caught my attention. The way his short black hair spiked and his blank expression. He reminded me of a few trips to the beech where we had all played with some cousins. He looked like an older version of my cousin, Takashi Morinozuka.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I looked up to see the tall boy with glasses. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave now." He said. He sounded like he was trying to be nice, but it sort of scared me.

"What?!" Tamaki screeched. It brought back more memories of my time in France. "You can't tell her to go. Akito can stay if she wants." He straitened up and cleared his throat. "Your king decrees it." Something told me that he didn't really understand what 'decree' meant.

I noticed that both of the newcomers had perked up at the mention of my name. I was pleased to know that my brother still had his memories of me. I walked up to them, feeling a slight lump in my throat. "Hi." I said cheerfully to them. "I'm-"

The tall one cut me off. "Akito Haninozuka." He said. He had a deep voice that seemed deprived of all emotion. I couldn't help but notice more similarities between him and my cousin.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah." I was trying to decide how to ask him if he was, in fact, my cousin. I didn't want to sound rude, but I felt that I had to know.

"Akito! You're back!" My arm was tugged by the spirit as he lunged at me. I had a sudden flash of ghosts who took other people to the afterlife with them. He was smiling up at me. "When did you get back?" Then he paused for a minute. "I saw you at the University the other day!" He said this as a large smile spread over his face.

The twins walked up to us. "Honey-sempi, are you two related?"

I thought that it was odd that they called him 'sempi'. If he was dead, wouldn't they drop the honorifics? Then something else hit me. _'How do they know him?'_ I was getting so confused. I knew that getting mixed up in spirits was a big mistake.

Mitsukuni smiled up at the twins. "Akito is my little sister." He said this while swinging on my arm. "It's been forever since I've seen her last." He continued to talk like a little kid.

It struck me as odd that he was speaking even more like a child then when I left. I thought that spirits were just frozen in time, but he seemed to be slowly reliving his childhood.

"Akito, what sorts of places did you visit?" Mitsukuni asked. As he said this, he slipped on the polished floor. I quickly stuck out a hand to steady him.

I grabbed his wrist, half expecting his arm to go right through me. I caught him and just stood there for a few moments before I helped him stand up straight. In those few moments, I felt something that made my heart beet faster with joy.

Mitsukuni Haninozuka…had a pulse.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I felt tears coming to my eyes again. I bent over and gave my brother a huge hug and let the tears flow. "Mitsukuni! It's so good to see you again." I didn't know if I wanted to tell him yet that I had thought he was a ghost.

"Akito, why are you crying so much?" I heard him ask.

I let go if him and looked him right in the eyes. "You haven't changed at all." I bit my lip and at that moment decided not to hide anything from my family. "When I first saw you, I thought you were a spirit."

His expression made my heart break. He looked the same as when our father took away his bunny (which I noticed he was still carrying). "I'm sorry I haven't grown much." Now he was starting to cry. "I really did try."

I felt really bad for him, so I picked him up. A part of my mind told me that I should not be able to lift my older brother more than an inch off the ground. I ignored all reason as I carried him over to the couch. I sat beside him and gave him another hug. I barely noticed Takashi sitting on his other side.

Tamaki took a seat across the table from me. "Uh… Zuka?" He sounded like he didn't want to ruin our reunion. "What have you been up to?"

"Yeah. How did the boss know you before today?" One of the twins said, taking a seat beside Tamaki.

"And why have we never heard of you from Honey-sempie before?" The other twin finished, sitting on Tamaki's other side.

Mitsukuni looked up at me. He was smiling now. "What countries have you visited?" He sounded like he had been waiting for years to hear about my travels.

I looked at all of the people in the room. "I've been to Canada, Italy, France, China, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and Brazil, not in that order." I shrugged at their surprised looks. "Only a small percent of the world." I sat there, waiting for more questions.

Tamaki spoke next. "When you left France, you left suddenly. Why?" For a moment I realized that it was probably the most intelligent thing I had ever heard him say. I was amazed.

I felt a little bad about my sudden departures, even though I knew they weren't entirely my fault. I couldn't look at Tamaki as I answered. "My dad always sent me a letter telling me where I'd be living next. The tickets were always for the next day."

"So that's who all those letters were for."

Everyone looked to the door. Yasuchika had managed to open the door without anyone noticing. He was standing there, not wanting to come into the room completely. "I always wondered who he was sending tickets to."

I stood up and walked over to him. "Yeah, that would have been me." I put my arm around his shoulders and smiled widely at him. Then I remembered that he was supposed to be somewhere. "Why are you here and not at the karate club?"

His expression didn't change. "When two Haninozuka siblings meet, they must fight eachother." He then grabbed my wrist and flipped me over his shoulder.

Since I was caught off guard, I landed hard on my back. I slowly picked myself up, wincing at the pain. I stared at Yasuchika. I couldn't believe that he was the same child I had looked out for.

"Chika, she's been out of the country!" I heard Mitsukuni yell. He sounded very worried, I felt happy that he cared so much about me. "She doesn't know how to fight!"

My happiness faded and I looked over my shoulder at Mitsukuni. I grinned at him and shook my head. _'Just watch, Mitsukuni.'_ Then I jumped at Yasuchika.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

As I quickly approached Yasuchika, I swung at his head. Like I expected, he back stepped. I kicked his leg out from under him and he fell back. Since he was my brother, I didn't want him to get hurt, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him back up.

I took a few steps back to look at the damage. Yasuchika looked surprised, but not ready to give up. I did notice that he was favouring the leg I had kicked. _'Sorry, but you are the one that challenged me.'_ Then I attacked again.

I kicked him again. This time I swung my leg closer to his ankle. The leg that I hit was his other leg. He now couldn't stand properly. I watched in horror as he fell backwards and hit his head on the floor.

"Yasuchika! Are you okay?" I ran to his side and tried to help him sit up. He just pushed my hand away.

"I don't need help!" He looked angry, but I could tell that he was embarrassed. "I can get up by myself, I'm not completely weak."

I stood back as he got up. I felt really bad for hurting him. When I saw that he was going to fall over again, I jumped forward. I managed to catch him under the shoulders. "Be careful."

He scowled at me, but didn't push me away again. He just let me lead him to the couch. As he sat down, he stared at his feet. He was silent for a long time.

"Yasuchika, I-" I began, but he cut me off.

"I didn't believe it before." He murmured, still looking down. Suddenly his head flew up and he looked at me with a look so fierce it almost terrified me. "I didn't believe your story. I couldn't believe that you were my sister, but now I see it." He stood up, still leaning on the couch, and looked me in the eyes head on. "You are definitely a Haninozuka."

I felt a strange feeling of pried run through me. I felt like I was finally being accepted as part of a family. "Thank you Yasuchika." I couldn't keep tears form filling my eyes once more. "I can't tell you what that means to me."

As the tears started to flow down my cheeks, Mitsukuni came to stand beside me. "Akito, why didn't you move in with us when you first arrived?"

I looked down at him and smiled, kind of embarrassed. "I was nervous about living with others." I looked between him and Yasuchika. "I lived alone for so long, that I didn't know how to act around others."

Mitsukuni smiled even whider at me. "You don't have to be perfect, Akito." He grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door.

"Mitsukuni!" I cried in surprise. "Where are we going?!" I glanced back in panic at the others in the room. Only Yasuchika was moving toward us.

"We're going to your house!" Mitsukuni declared in exitment.

* * *

Later that night, just as the sun was beginning to set, I walked through double doors in a different house. I looked around the large dining room, and saw only smiling faces. I smiled back and took a seat. I found myself between Yasuchika and Mitsukuni. I turned my attention to the man at the head of the table.

"Welcome home, Akito." Said my father.

And I felt at home. For the first time in ten years, I was truly at home.

'_I, Akito Haninozuka, have arrived home.'_

* * *

**Sakura Ando: That is the end of my story. It's the first thing I have ever actually finished other than a one shot. I'm sort of sad to say goodbye to the character of Akito. I feel like I didn't really address some things about her because they didn't draw into the story. I'm thinking that I might do a seiries of short bits about her life now. What do you think?**


	9. Chika's Birthday

Chika's Birthday

The bell rang to signal the end of the day. I grabbed my books and forced them into my bag. Standing up quickly, I slung my bag over my shoulder and ran towards the door.

"Akito!" I turned around to see the Hitachiin twins coming up behind me. "Where are you going?" Kaoru asked.

"Aren't you coming with us to the club?" Hikaru asked. He had a mischievous look that made me wary.

I shifted the weight of my bag and turned to face them properly. "Not today. I'm going to the University to meet with my brother." I smiled widely at them. "Maybe I'll see you at the club later."

I turned away from them before they could say anything else. I ran out the door and down the hall. As I neared Yasuchika's classroom, the door opened. I saw Yasuchika leaving alone. I ran up to him. "Hi."

He looked at me with surprise. Then he scowled. "I thought you always went to the host club with you classmates." I detected a hint of longing in his voice.

I patted him on the head. "No today. Come on!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the front door. "Mitsukuni is waiting for us." I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

Yasuchika kept scowling. "Why should I care if that alien is waiting for me or not?" I tried to get out of my grip.

I couldn't help but laugh. "You call him an alien because he eats so much cake, right?" Yasuchika nodded. "Well, he has to get his energy form somewhere."

The expression on Yasuchika's face was that of shock. "Energy? What do you mean?"

I slowed my pace as we headed to the University. "Even though he's no longer part of the karate club, he still has a very active life." I grinned sideways at Yasuchika. "He's just like a monkey." I shook my head and got back on topic. "Since he's so small, he can't store a lot of energy, so he needs to constantly be eating high energy foods. He just happened to choose cakes and sweets."

Yasuchika was staring straight ahead. "I never saw it like that." Then he took up a defensive exterior. "He's still strange though."

I laughed. "Fine. He's not an alien though, because his cake consumption can be explained."

By this time we had reached the University. I looked around for Mitsukuni, but I couldn't pick him out of the streams of kids exiting the building. I scanned the faces one more time, this time looking for Takashi.

I finally found them. Mitsukuni was sitting on Takashi's shoulders, looking over the heads of their classmates. I ran up to them, pushing my way through the crowd. "Mitsukuni! Takashi!" I called.

Mitsukuni jumped down. "Akito! You made it! I was worried that you wouldn't come." He ran up to me and grabbed my arm, swinging a little. "Now we can go home together."

Yasuchika managed to push his way through the crowd to us at that moment. "Why is today so special?"

I stared at him like he was an idiot. "I've heard of people forgetting when it's someone else." I mumbled. Then I started to laugh. "But I've never heard of someone forgetting their own birthday!"

Yasuchika's face went red. "I – I didn't forget!" He looked down at his feet. "Celebrating things like birthdays make you weak."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Yasuchika, but you'll just have to humour me this year." I grinned and started walking to the school gate. "I already made a cake."

Mitsukuni dashed up to me and grabbed by arm again, swinging harder this time. "Yay! Akito made a cake!"

I could hear Yasuchika's footsteps keeping up with us. "Mistukuni, you ali-" He suddenly stopped.

I looked over my shoulder to see him staring at me. Then he glanced at Mitsukuni, who was also looking at him. A slight smile crept over his face as he looked down. "You monky."

We all laughed.


End file.
